Webinar Recording: Guidance for ‘Safe Exercise’ in the COVID-era & How to prepare for a return to sport Agenda Introductions – Dr Steven Cox Exercise in the COVID-19 era; Facts and fiction – Professor Sanjay Sharma Going back to exercise; A roadmap to re-training – Professor Mathew Wilson Cardiac evaluation prior to returning to sport; One size fits all? – Dr Michael Papadakis

Basu J Malhotra A Papadakis M Exercise and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: Two incompatible entities? Clinical Cardiology, February 2020 {Paper} A greater understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms underpinning hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) has translated to improved medical care and better survival of affected individuals. Historically these patients were considered to be at high risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) during exercise; therefore, exercise recommendations were highly conservative and promoted a sedentary life style. There is emerging evidence that suggests that exercise in HCM

BBC News, 20th May 2019 According to the University of Oxford researchers, a new microscopic imaging technique can be used to spot the signs of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM); the leading cause of sudden cardiac death in young people. This common condition affects 1 in 500 people in the UK and can prove fatal. Normally, the signs of this condition can only be detected after death and many with HCM experience no symptoms. However, this new technique can be used to

Gati S, Malhotra A, Sharma S Exercise recommendations in patients with valvular disease BMJ Heart, January 2019 {Abstract} Valvular heart disease affects approximately 3% of young individuals, many of whom aspire to partake in competitive sport or high intensity recreational exercise. Although reports on the natural history of valvular heart disease in athletes are sparse, there is a theoretical possibility that a large stroke volume coupled with vigorous mechanical contractions of the heart and an increased chronotropic state may accelerate

Diagnostic Yield of Genetic Testing in Young Athletes with T-Wave Inversion Sheikh N et al., Diagnostic Yield of Genetic Testing in Young Athletes With T-Wave Inversion. Circulation 2018;May 15 https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.118.034208 Regular intensive exercise is associated with a number of changes in the heart which include enlargement of the chambers, thickening (hypertrophy) of the muscle, and slowing of the heart rate. These changes can be detected on an athlete’s electrical tracing (ECG) and ultrasound scan (echocardiogram). In the vast majority of

Michael Papadakis, Efstathios Papatheodorou, Greg Mellor, Hariharan Raju, Rachel Bastiaenen, Yanushi Wijeyeratne, Sara Wasim, Bode Ensam, Gherardo Finocchiaro, Belinda Gray, Aneil Malhotra, Andrew D’Silva, Nina Edwards, Della Cole, Virginia Attard, Velislav N. Batchvarov, Maria Tome-Esteban, Tessa Homfray, Mary N. Sheppard, Sanjay Sharma and Elijah R. Behr The Diagnostic Yield of Brugada Syndrome After Sudden Death With Normal Autopsy JACC, March 2018 {Abstract} Ajmaline test Q&A with Dr Michael Papadakis

Published research funded by the charity CRY is improving the way young people are screened and leading to significant cost savings Important research funded by Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) is adding further weight to the argument that proactive cardiac screening is a cost-effective way of saving young lives. By using the  screening criteria developed by CRY (the so-called, “CRY-teria”) the number of false positives will be significantly reduced – resulting in a staggering 21% reduction in the cost